Two Hundred
by Fatherfail
Summary: The king has been assassinated. Tensions are growing in Windsor Province, a neutral country in a time of war. Lord Ryon is pushing for involvement in the war, but Queen Francia is staying strong. So, Lord Ryon must find something else to push the queen towards war. However, things get out of hand, and everything lies with a young miner who is promised a reward of two hundred.
1. Chapter 1

**This is something I've been thinking about for a while. I recently lost inspiration to do anything so I decided it was time for a new category. **

**I'm not really in a good mood right now so I'll just start it.**

…

Two hundred. That is the number of days I have been working in the mine, and coincidentally, it is also the amount of money I am paid for a month's work. It's barely enough to support myself and my father, but it's do-able. It was morning, but the time of day didn't mean anything to me. Morning was the time of day when the blazing ball in the sky would rise, and night was when it disappeared behind the hills. Who needs to keep track of time when the work you do could cost you your life?

I coughed violently as I walked down the cracked sidewalk, walking along the old cobblestone road, and past dirty and broken shop windows. Two hundred days in the mines can damage everything in your body, especially your lungs. But health, like time, was a luxury only the rich could afford to care about. I was willing to work myself to death if it meant making enough money to at least support my father. My father was not an old man, he was still in his prime age. He had once been a soldier in the Windsor Army.

The late king had led a series of military expeditions to stop the mercenary attacks from the Dead Lands outside the kingdom's walls. My father's military career was stopped short when he lost an arm during a battle. The doctors managed to save his life, but they couldn't save his pride. He was disappointed in himself because he couldn't do anything but beg until he died. He was ashamed to send his son in the mines to earn money. He was ashamed to send his wife away because he knew I wouldn't make enough money to support them.

My entire family's stability had been on my father's shoulders. The pay from being a soldier was good, but long gone, and as I walked down the gravel pathway towards the dark gaping hole that was where I worked, I couldn't help but feel angry. Normally, the woods surrounding the mine, and the chirping of birds would make me happy, but the sudden thought of my father and the family I once had made me incredibly angry.

I stepped into the dark cave and continued walking through it, trying to savor the cool breeze before I stepped underground into the stuffy underground tunnels where I worked. There was a crude staircase as the back of the cave, two torches burning on the cave walls. I jumped down the staircase and quickly saw the row of dented steel hooks where all the uniforms and helmets hung. As I put on the bright orange shirt and matching long legged pants, I realized some benefits of working in the mines. One, the mining uniform was the only regularly clean article of clothing I had, and second, the food in the mines was much better than at home.

…

"Name?"

"Griam Pots, reporting in."

The old man at the desk in front of the tunnels that would take me to where I did most of my work nodded, and I walked past the desk, heading down into the tunnels. The air got more and more stuffy as I went through the tunnel, heading towards the mobs of miners digging out pretty much everything out of the earth. The sound of digging, shouting, and the sounds of an alarm ringing from somewhere filled my ears as I stepped out of the tunnel, looking around the mine, miners swarming over the stone walls. Steam hissed from valves implanted in the rock, and harsh lighting turned the grey stone white.

I walked over to where a pickaxe was leaning against a stone wall, and I picked it up. As the hundreds of other workers brought their picks down, I followed suit.. After today, it would be my two hundred first.

**Windsor Palace**

The palace was not nearly as fancy as those in other nations, but I liked it. It wasn't some high rising buildings with steeples like a church. It didn't have huge towers, battlements, or moats. It was like an estate a wealthy nobleman would own, except it belonged to my family, the Windsor Family. I was inside, standing in the main hall, looking at my father's dead body, encased in glass, fully viewable to anyone who came to the palace.

I had mixed feelings about the glass case. While it was nice to see my father, I didn't really want him to rot right in front of me. In the background, I could hear my mother's screams of pain as doctors tried to calm her down. I grimaced as the screams continued, and I wiped some sweat off my forehead with my shirt sleeve, trying not to ruin the smooth black fabric. I looked back at my father, lying in the glass case. His eyes were closed, his hands holding his sword over his chest, and he was wearing his best clothes.

I almost felt a tear come to my face as I walked up to the glass case, something I had been too afraid to do before, and I placed my hand on it, looking down at my father. My voice was angry as I tried to get the words out. I almost choked with anger as I spoke to my father's corpse.

"I-I'll find them. I swear it, father. I won't let them get away with this. M-Mother is…sick…again. If you were here…I-I just want to be strong…"

"You don't look too strong to me."

I whipped around, teeth clenched as I wiped the tears away with my shirt sleeve. Walking towards me was Ruby Voltar, the daughter of a Baroness my mother was friends with. My angry look was broken for a second as I lifted my eyebrow at the clothes she was wearing. Unlike all noble women, Ruby was dressed in a full black suit, a black and white checkered tie to match. Her reddish colored hair was shorter than last time, looking like hair that a young ruffian out on the streets would have, only, cleaner. She smirked at me, her intelligent eyes daring me to do something.

Of course, I didn't do anything else besides turn back to my father.

"You look rather sharp, dressed in that black shirt, and your little cloak to match. Look, you even have your black hair combed back. Dressed in all black to mourn your father, eh?" she asked as she walked up to the case and patted it while smiling at my father's body.

That made me snap. I didn't turn angrily, but I aimed to insult her without showing my anger. My face was calm as I looked at her, my jaw set, trying not to give any indication I was really angry.

"I could say the same for you. What's a Baroness's daughter doing dressed in men's clothing?" I shot back, trying to insult her.

Ruby didn't even seem fazed as she smirked at me and put her index finger on the glass, sliding it down the glass case so it made a smudge.

"It's a new fashion thing. My mom told me to try it out, and I must say, it sure captures the attention of some people." she laughed as she stepped away from the case and turned to walk away.

I just grunted and turned back to my father. She always had her way of winning any argument she got into. As she walked away, Ruby suddenly stopped, turning back towards me, her face serious.

"Listen, Kanin, I was just joking. I'm sorry about what happened to your dad. I just thought I'd let you know that." she said as I looked back at her and nodded silently.

She left me alone, and I finally turned away from the glass case to leave when I found myself staring at Lord Ryon, and a group of Black Coats standing behind him. I narrowed my eyes at the sight of the one man my mom truly trusted besides me, and the Black Coats watched silently from behind their grinning masks and their black cloaks. I watched them carefully as Lord Ryon bowed, taking off his top hat as he did a low bow, putting it back on when he finished. He smiled at me, and I smiled back, weakly. I swore I saw a pistol hidden in his greatcoat as he walked towards me, arms extended, a pained look on his face.

"I'm sorry for not making my presence known beforehand, but I couldn't interrupt you and your father. Please, your highness," his face suddenly became extremely serious as he leaned in to whisper in my ear. "You are in grave danger. The queen has asked that you be escorted away from the palace to somewhere safe. The assassins that killed your father are coming."

I backed up, my back hitting the glass case. I looked at Lord Ryon's pale face, my own in complete shock. The assassins were coming? Immediately, the group of Black Coats revealed their pistols and muskets as they stood at attention, Lord Ryon wrapping his arm around my shoulder, leading me towards the group of elite bodyguards I had learned to trust so well.

"These men will escort you to safety. Please, be safe, your highness." whispered Lord Ryon as I was surrounded by the Black Coats, the sea of black leading me towards the palace's main entrance.

…

"I assumed it worked, Captain Riffle?" Lord Ryon asked as the man dressed in a black cloak and wearing a grinning mask nodded his head.

"Yes, my lord. He doesn't suspect a thing." reported the Black Coat captain as Lord Ryon nodded his head.

He drew his pistol from underneath his greatcoat and handed it to Captain Riffle, muzzle first. Lord Ryon was only a little bit taller than Riffle, but he leaned in anyways.

"Make it look like Westerfield assassins."

**Rough Town, Dead Lands**

The night was always the scariest time of the day. Nobody knew what was waiting in the dark. It was hard to get home in the dark, but I managed. I couldn't think about dying on the way home, the money for my father ending up in the hands of some bandit or thief. The night air was cold, and I shivered in my poor excuse for clothes, but I felt warmer when I saw the lights of my village appear in the night. I smiled lightly as I headed towards the light.

Rough Town was where I lived. It was where most of the miners lived. It was a town for those too poor to afford houses within the kingdom, and it was a place for beggars to live when they were thrown out of the country. I shrugged as I walked towards Rough Town. I just wanted to sleep. The work in the mine had been tough, and I just wanted to forget all of it, dreaming, before I woke up to repeat the same cycle over and over again until I either got too old, lost a limb, or died. It was a sad life, but it was the life I was happy to live if it meant maybe patching my family back up.

…

"Dad, I'm back from the mine," I announced as I pushed the rusty tin door of my hut open, expecting light inside the small bungalow, but finding total darkness.

I frowned as I closed the door behind me, the tin door scraping against the dusty ground. I looked around the darkness, trying to find my dad. I was walking around the bungalow for a while, looking for the lantern that usually sat on the living room floor. That's when I heard the uncomfortable grunting. I used the sound to enter my father's room. My eyes had gotten used to the darkness, so I saw him sitting on the ground, his face blank. He was grunting as he suddenly shivered, the lantern sitting right next to him.

"Dad, what are you doing? Are you alright?" I asked as I knelt down on the dirt floor, turning the lantern on, illuminating the thin wooden walls of our bungalow, my father's face lighting up like a candle.

He looked almost scared, his unruly brown hair sticking out in strands, his teeth clenched, and the stump of his right arm digging into his side.

"Dad, what's going on. Did something happen?" I asked as my father raised the only hand he had, to point out the broken window in his room.

"The Black Cloaks…they're coming."

That's when I heard the first gunshot.

**Black Coat carriage, destination unknown**

I never really trusted Lord Ryon. The man looked way too sly in my opinion. He was always talking to my mother, Queen Francia. People seemed fine with it, but I didn't. I was sitting in the carriage, Black Coats sitting next to me and across from me, their grinning masks staring back at me. I tried not to shiver, and I pulled my cloak closer to me. The carriage wasn't anything fancy, and I looked out the window to see towns go by, everything just a blur as we left everything behind.

Was I really in danger? Were the assassins who killed my father really coming to kill me? If so, why was I running away? That particular thought hit me pretty hard. I looked out the window and saw that we were heading towards the border of the Dead Lands. I looked at the Black Coat across from me.

"Why are we entering the Dead Lands?" I asked.

They didn't answer. I was about to ask again when suddenly I heard shouting from outside. One of the windows of the carriage cracked, probably hit by a rock. The Black Coats instantly shifted their attention to the cracked window. The one sitting closest to it pulled out his pistol and looked out the window, looking around. We passed through the border, into the Dead Lands. I could see at least a few miner villages in the distance. I decided to sit in silence as we went to wherever I was going to be safe, and a few moments passed before more shouting erupted.

I just ignored it, but that was before there was a muffled 'boom' and then the sound of wood splintering. Suddenly, I felt the carriage shake, and then I felt it completely tip over, the windows breaking, and the entire thing slamming into the ground. I let out a shout as I hit my head against the wooden door that was trapped on the ground. I blacked out for a second, and when I came to, the Black Coats were outside, muskets and pistols in their hands.

"W-What's going on! Answer me!" I shouted desperately as I reached towards the carriage's open doors.

I peeked my head out of the carriage just in time to see a cloud of white erupt right in front of me. Somebody was shooting! I ducked back into the carriage, shivering once again. Lord Ryon was right! I heard the thuds of bodies dropping onto the ground, and there was a thunk as a pistol dropped into the carriage, thrown out of someone's hands. I grabbed it and held it against my chest, my heart thumping as my thoughts raced. I heard someone approaching the carriage, and in a moment of pure adrenaline, I popped up, and aimed the gun in the face of a dirty peasant boy, around my age. He was wearing dirty rags, his face smudged with black dust.

"Who are you!"

…

**There you go. I'm still not in a good mood so I won't make this too long. **

**If you want, submit a character for me. They won't be a main character, but they could be a villain in the future, depending on what role will suit them. I'm not sure whether magic will be included, but if it is, I will let you know. I hope this chapter was exciting and fun to read. I actually had a lot of fun writing this. Anyways, thanks for reading. FF**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yeah, I'm sorry for the wait. I just didn't have my netbook around at all, and I just wasn't feeling inspired. I was hoping for a new chapter of Fairy Tail to get me pumped up, but I don't think it's been released yet. It's really weird writing in this section because I feel like I can pretty much write about anything. **

**The rating may go up, depending on how I want the story to develop. That's just a warning. Also, if you want a character you made up to be in the story, go ahead and send it in. Magic being involved in the story is still up in the air, but there may be a reference to magic itself in the story.**

**Let's start this chapter. Enjoy. **

It was the smell that woke me. The disgusting stench of dirt, and other unknown pieces of garbage wafted into my nose while I lay on the dirt floor, my face just inches above the filth. I tried to hold out, trying to go back to sleep, but I had to open my eyes eventually to see the piles of garbage in front of me. But there was no garbage. My eyes wandered around the room, expecting someone to bring a sword down on my neck any second. It didn't happen, the room was empty. I looked down at my hands and feet and grimaced as I saw the rope tying them together. I decided to sit up, so I could get a better view of the room, instead of lying on my shoulder, my head on something that felt like a soggy cardboard box.

I heaved myself up, and leaned against a wall, looking at the room where I was being held captive. It was surprisingly clean, but the smell was awful, I tried not to gag as I looked down at what had been my pillow. Turns out, it was indeed a soggy cardboard box. The entire floor was made out of dirt, and a door was across from me, the sounds of activity coming from behind the door. I checked on my clothes, and I found out that they weren't completely ruined, but they weren't in the best condition. I decided that escaping was out of the question because the only way out besides the door was a window right above me, and breaking the glass would be difficult with my hands and feet tied together.

As I lay against the wall, I thought about what had happened. Why was I in this room? Why was I tied up? None of it made sense. I tried thinking of something that would help me remember, but I was completely blank. I groaned as I let my head hit the wall.

"Come on, Kanin, what would father do?" I asked myself, trying to think.

Father. That's when it all clicked. I looked around the room frantically, slowly figuring everything out. I had been riding in a carriage. Lord Ryon said that people were coming after me, and everything was going smoothly, until the carriage tipped over. I had tried to shoot someone, a boy around my age, but then I stopped. The boy. The thought of the boy that I had tried to shoot unlocked the final piece of my temporarily lost memory. The peasant boy had moved quickly. He slammed the pistol straight of my hand, and then he pulled me out of the carriage before I could do anything else. I nodded my head slowly. There was no doubt about it. The peasant boy was working with the assassins who killed my father. One question still remained: why was I still alive? If they were really assassins, wouldn't they have killed me by now? Did they want money, or did they think I held some secret information?

Whatever the reason I was still alive, I would be able to ask my kidnappers in person. As soon as I stopped asking myself questions, the door to the room opened wide open. In walked a man with only his left arm, carrying a pistol in his hand. He looked seriously mentally ill, his hair sticking out in random places, and his expression twisted in silent anger. There was another person who walked in, and I knew who it was immediately. Even though I only saw his face for a second, the boy had the same look as the one I had tried to shoot. Both were dressed in peasant rags and had brown hair, but the boy was dirtier than the man, his face smudged with black dust, holding a plate of food in his hands.

The two sat down in front of me and I glared at them, trying not to smell the awful smelling air. The two peasants didn't seem effected, probably used to the smell of their own filth.

"This is what poverty smells like? Remind me to guard my wealth with my life. I'd rather die than live like this." I said snidely as the old man chuckled and aimed the pistol at my head.

"You better shut your stupid mouth before I put a bullet in your 'ead." growled the old man as the pistol was aimed straight at my head.

I admit, that got me really scared, but I didn't let it show. The peasant boy didn't seem faxed by the fact that his accomplice was about to shoot their captive in the head. He set the plate down in front of me, utensils already on the plate.

"Eat it. You're probably hungry," he said, as I looked at the plate.

It was a small breakfast, but I was hungry. A greasy sausage, and an egg was better than eating dirt. This single breakfast must have cost them a fortune. I ate hungrily, and when I was finished, I looked at the two, thinking of something witty to say back to them.

"I imagine this breakfast cost you a lot of money. How much was it? Half of your life savings?" I sneered as the boy held up his hand, the man grunting and lowering the pistol.

The boy looked at me, and I started to get annoyed by his silence. Why wouldn't he say anything? I stared back at him, feeling uncomfortable. Finally, he spoke.

"Who are you?"

I responded without hesitation, glad to hear the boy say something.

"My name is...James Ryon. Have you seen my bodyguards?" I asked, already knowing that they were all dead.

The boy looked at the man who nodded his head, grunting. The boy looked at me, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"My name is Griam Pots. Your bodyguards are all dead besides one who got away." he motioned towards the man holding the pistol, "This is my father, Oliver Pots."

I gulped. My bodyguards were dead besides one, most likely being pursued by these peasant assassins. I had heard rumors that assassins now disguised themselves as peasants in order to blend in with the crowds. I sighed, feeling defeated. I had decided to lie to them, but they had no doubt seen through my lie. I looked Griam in the eye, and decided I wanted this to be over.

"Just kill me. I know you're an assassin, and I told you everything I know..."

Surprisingly, the response came quickly. Oliver laughed and Griam smiled slightly. Did that mean they were really assassins?

"An assassin, eh? Sorry to break it to you, but I'm a miner, nothing more." said Griam as he stood up, his father following.

I watched speechlessly as the two peasants left the room, leaving me alone.

**Windsor Palace**

It was dark out, and ladies weren't supposed to wander the palace at night, but I was dressed in men's clothing thanks to my mother. Even if somebody caught me, it was dark, and they would probably see me as a man anyways. I smirked as I looked out one of the huge windows in the palace, the pale light of the moon landing on my face, my body casting a shadow on the red carpet of the palace.

"Let's have some fun, eh?"

I was heading out of the palace. I would leave straight through the main doors, and nobody would ask any questions. I walked silently, the carpet muffling my movements, and I came to the large staircase that led down into the main hall where Kanin's father was on display. I was about to head down the stairs when I saw the man, his back faced towards me. I watched silently, hidden in the shadows. I was surprised to see a Black Coat came crashing through the door, collapsing on the floor, dragging himself towards the man standing in the middle of the hall.

The Black Coat was missing his mask, blood dripping to the floor as the wounded man took his hand off the gunshot wound. The man seemed to be looking at him, and he was dressed just like the Black Coat, watching as the man struggled to his feet, and limped forward.

"I take it that you failed?"

That sentence didn't surprise me. Secret military missions were nothing new, and I was interested to see the punishment that would be dealt out to the Black Coat who failed. What the man did next surprised me. The man nodded his head, the Black Coat wheezing.

"You seem surprised that I didn't punish you. This was a problem to the plan, but it's alright, Captain Riffle. Despite your team being slaughtered by peasants, the operation went more or less to plan. The boy won't last very long, and is probably already dead."

That made my eyebrows rise. A boy? What would they want with a boy? My eyes flickered over to the main doors as another Black Coat came in and stood next to Riffle, completely silent. The two talked a few more minutes longer, the other Black Coat completely silent. The conversation was probably very important, but for some reason, I couldn't stop staring at the Black Coat who was silent, listening. Something about the Black Coat drew my eyes to him, and when he turned his head to look at me, my heart stopped.

I had been seen.

But instead of raising the alarm to his comrades, he stared at me, silently. My heart beat wildly and I stifled a scream when I saw the blood drip from his mask, the scarlet liquid spill over the cutouts for his eyes, and out of the mask itself. And then within a second, he was gone. I took a step back, still startled by what I had seen. I turned and ran as soon as I could, trying not to think about the man in the mask, but something about him was familiar. Something was going on. That man must have been an omen, an omen of bad things to come.

**...**

**Hrm, I would have liked to make this chapter longer, but I didn't really want to over extend chapters. So, there's the chapter. If you want to send me a character, I'll find a role for them. Anyways, I'm kinda tired, so I'll leave it at that. See you later. FF**


	3. Hiatus

**Crap, I feel really bad about announcing this. I feel like I let you guys down, but I'm afraid I have to go on hiatus for god knows when. I tried to upload several one-shots, but nothing came. I even tried one of those ipod shuffle challenges, and nothing clicked. **

**So, this means good bye for an unknown amount of time. I'm not giving up on writing, but I need time to think, and you guys deserve to know that I'm not doing so hot right now. School will start in about four days, so I'll be infinitely busy. So, sorry about then hiatus, but it's the lesser of two evils between letting you guys know, and letting it look like I gave up writing altogether. Thanks for the support. FF**


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